2013 Recap: Bell Aquaculture Top Ten Tweets

#1 – 51 Clicks – Nov 21, 2013: Hatchery International: Bell #Aquaculture turns 'Waste into Revenue http://ow.ly/r1YGS #FishFarming #RAS #recirc


#2 – 42 Clicks (in 2013) – posted Dec 10, 2012: Vancouver Sun: 'Fish grown in closed containment systems offer big environmental advantages' http://ow.ly/fYUOV

#3 – 30 Clicks – Aug 15, 2013: Bell Aquaculture Pres Norman McCowan Receives Indiana Agrivision Award http://ow.ly/nXZWi #BestPractice via @BellAquaculture


#4 – 29 Clicks – Feb 19, 2013: AAAS Annual Mtg News: 'Can Fish Farms Feed the World?' Bell Aquaculture photo shows RAS technology http://ow.ly/hQSyq

#5 – 15 Clicks – Mar 4, 2013: Organic Fish Fertilizer: Fish Rich® 2-2-2 available online now for your Spring Vegetable Garden http://ow.ly/ikmQd via @BellAquaculture

#6 – 14 Clicks – Sept 3, 2013: AgriNews: 'Hoosier is honored for commitment to aquaculture' http://ow.ly/ox4va #Indiana #AquacultureHub

#7 – 12 Clicks – Aug 14, 2013: Inside INdiana Business: 'Aquaculture on The Rise in Indiana' http://ow.ly/nWbvE

#8 – 10 Clicks – Sept 23, 2013: The Fish Site: 'Making Land-based Aquaculture more Sustainable' http://ow.ly/p8fJr

#9 – 10 Clicks – Feb 3, 2013: You can order Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer online... now.... http://ow.ly/hnkEp #OrganicFertilizer #OMRIListed via @BellAquaculture

#10 – 9 Clicks – Feb 14, 2013: Bell Aquaculture Named 'Industry of the Year' By Jay County Chamber of Commerce http://ow.ly/hnkEp #YellowPerch #Sustainability

Link to the Bell Aquaculture Twitter

Recirc In Action: 'New technology turns wastes into revenue at Indiana perch farm'

Quoting from the Nov/Dec Hatchery International:
 
"Bell Aquaculture, located at Redkey, in rural Indiana, is the world’s largest producer of yellow perch (Perca flavescens). The company has closed the perch lifecycle in land-based, closed-containment systems, and production is fully vertically integrated. It controls the broodstock, spawning, incubation, fry culture, growout, and year-round harvesting, processing and marketing of value-added fillets."

Link to the full article

The Conservation Fund: 'Putting Yellow Perch Back On The Menu'

Quoting from The Conservation Fund's October 8th Common Ground Newsletter:

"While the Indiana Soybean Alliance worked with Bell Aquaculture to develop soy-based feed for farm-raised Bell Perch®, our Freshwater Institute developed a land-based, closed fish farming system that uses just a small amount of water, requires no antibiotics and captures water waste to fertilize soybean fields. It’s a winning solution that offers economic and conservation benefits, while putting yellow perch back on the menu for fish lovers across the region."

Link to TCF Common Ground

Link to the full article 'Sustainable Fish Success In Indiana'

Also read "Face Of This Place: Norman McCowan, President Of Bell Aquaculture In Indiana"

Quoting from the interview with Bell Aquaculture President Norman McCowan:

"You run one of the most successful aquaculture companies in the nation, how did you get interested in aquaculture?

In the mid-80’s, I raised bait fish. This was my hobby and passion; I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was aquaculture. Learning the water chemistry and fish husbandry in an effort to keep bait fish alive so that I could trout line Indiana’s Wabash River was my first step into aquaculture. At this point I was working in the automotive industry where I really learned about efficiency. I was approached for some consulting work for Bell Aquaculture because I knew about fish husbandry and eventually was hired on full time. My drive to push efficiency into the business and my passion to expand aquaculture is ultimately what led me to be named as president and COO in 2010."

'Making Land-based Aquaculture more Sustainable'

Quoting from The Fish Site today:

"Earlier this month, an International symposium brought together people from 15 countries to discuss how to improve land-based aquaculture, including its performance, sustainability, and cost of raising salmon and other fish...

...'For the first time this industry is seeing a technology that is scalable and gets a return on investment,' said Norman McCowan, President, Bell Aquaculture. The Freshwater Institute designed a closed-containment system for Bell to raise its signature perch on land that conserves water, reduces fertilizer use and provides chemical- and pesticide-free healthy fish for human consumption."

Link to The Fish Site

Lakeside Views: 'Aquaculture industry continues to grow in the Midwest'

Quoting from the 9/12 posting:

"IISG staff will have the opportunity to see aquaculture in action next week while touring the Bell Aquaculture facility in Albany, IN. IISG's Kwamena Quagrainie has been studying and providing expert advice to aquaculture operations in the Midwest and worldwide for many years, and will be giving the staff more information on how the facility provides millions of pounds of sustainably grown fish to the market each year."

Link to the posting

Link to the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Aquaculture webpage

AgriNews: 'Hoosier is honored for commitment to aquaculture'

Quoting from today's posting by Ashley Bechman:

"The only thing fishy about this year’s Indiana Agrivision Award recipient is his passion for aquaculture and growing it into a billion-dollar industry.

Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann presented Norman McCowan, president and chief executive officer of Bell Aquaculture in Redkey, with the Indiana Agrivision Award, which is given to a Hoosier involved in agriculture for their demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in the industry...

...McCowan, who was nominated for the award by his peers in the agriculture community, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Soybean Alliance, noted that his love for fish stems from his childhood days when he would catch minnows and figure out the water and the temperature in which the fish thrived. Today, that boyhood hobby has turned into something much bigger as McCowan now oversees all of the work that goes into producing Bell Aquaculture’s farm-raised yellow perch."

Link to AgriNews

SeafoodSource: 'McCowan honored for aquaculture work'

Quoting from the August 16th posting:

"The president of an Indiana-based aquaculture company has been honored with an award for work in his field.

Norman McCowan, the president of Bell Aquaculture, received the Agrivision Award this week, recognizing him as a leader of the agricultural community in Indiana."

Link to SeafoodSource.com

Audio Interview: 'McCowan honored with AgriVision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th posting by Meghan Grebner:

"Yesterday was Farmer’s Day at the Indiana State Fair. In recognition of his vision, innovation, and leadership, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann presented Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, the Indiana Agrivision Award.

McCowan says the honor is humbling. 'We’re in a niche sector, aquaculture, which is now a growing industry in Indiana,' he says. 'To be recognized was unbelievable. I’m very excited, it’s very exciting.' 

A recent Purdue Extension study showed that aquaculture is a growing contributor to Indiana’s agriculture economy. McCowan tells Brownfield he doesn’t see that slowing down any time soon."

Link to the Brownfield Ag News for America posting

Link to the mp3 interview

Seedstock: ' the greatest, most valuable web site' with startup profile of Bell Aquaculture from 2011

Why Seedstock? Example, per The Taste of Tomorrow:

"Seedstock is also a steady source of inspiring tales of smart aquaculture — they’ve profiled VCs focused on fostering enviro-friendly aquaculture, and fish farmers experimenting with ways of lowering feed conversion ratio, companies focused on improving quality and traceability for consumers.

Here are two examples — two great profiles of US-based farmers using recirculating aquaculture systems — one looks at SweetSpring Salmon, a producer of coho salmon, and the other focuses on Norman McCowan, a fish farmer who raises 2 million perch a year in the middle of the Indiana cornfields. (McCowan’s Bell Aquaculture, North America’s leading producer of yellow perch, reuses 99.8 percent of its water and converts leftover fish waste into a saleable product, organic liquid plant fertilizer.)

Check out Seedstock if you’re interested in becoming involved in sustainable food production. Their resource page includes a bunch of helpful links — aimed at entrepreneurs, students, job-seekers interested in aspects of sustainable agriculture. In brief, Seedstock bills itself as the resource on sustainable ag, we agree."

Link to The Taste of Tomorrow

Link to Seedstock's May 2011 posting "Startup Profile: Yellow Perch at Sea in the Cornfields of Indiana"

Coverage Overview: 'McCowan Honored with Indiana Agrivision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th Silobreaker: "Yesterday was Farmer’s Day at the Indiana State Fair. In recognition of his vision, innovation, and leadership, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann presented Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, the Indiana Agrivision Award." Link to Silobreaker

Quoting from August 15th Indiana Ag News: "Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann Wednesday presented the Indiana Agrivision Award to Jay County businessman Norman McCowan. The award recognizes a member of the Indiana agriculture family for demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in their field." Link to Indiana Ag Connection

Quoting from the August 16th posting: "The president of Bell Aquaculture, Indiana, USA, Norman McCowan has won the Indiana Agrivision Award... The award recognises a member of the Indiana agriculture family for demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in their field... McCowan received the accolade from Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann." Link to the Aquaculturists Blogspot 

Hoosier Ag Today: 'Aquaculture Pioneer Honored with AgriVision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th posting:

"The annual Agrivision Award presented by Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann recognizes an individual who has made a difference in Indiana agriculture. This year’s recipient has almost single-handedly build the state’s aquaculture industry from the ground up. Norman McCowan of Redkey, IN is the founder of Bell Aquaculture, one of the state’s oldest and largest fish farming operations... 

...McCowan told HAT Indiana is a great place to raise fish, 'We have a great source of water, a favorable tax structure, and a good permitting process that has allowed this industry to explode.' When McCowan started in 2005, there was very little in the way of resources, research, and even equipment to start such an operation. He credited Purdue and the soybean checkoff for helping the aquaculture industry grow the $500 million industry it is today, 'They have done a lot of work for us in developing new species we could produce and doing some of that core research that needs to be done.' Indiana Soybean Alliance Chief Executive Officer Jane Ade Stevens wrote, 'Norman McCowan has demonstrated vision in fish production, processing, research, economic development and the use of soybeans as a sustainable feed ingredient that is helping Indiana to be recognized domestically and internationally.'"

Link to Hoosier Ag Today

Indiana Public Media: 'Number Of Indiana Fish Farms Have Doubled Since 2006'

Quoting from the August 14th posting:

"Sales from fish farms in Indiana have more than quadrupled in the past six years from $3.5 million in 2006 to $15 million last year, according to a Purdue report released this week... 

...But there are still hurdles the industry must overcome before it can become a major market player. Quagrainie says raising fish requires a lot of capital investment, so staying in business can be difficult. 

Bell Aquaculture Sales and Marketing Director Jon Bennett an attest to that. The Albany-based company was founded in 2005, and he says it is had to find creative ways to cut overhead costs to remain profitable.

'Our company president has spent a tremendous amount of time in researching and developing certain processes,' he says. 'To accommodate, we have also partnered from several agencies to improve what we do and take in technology from other industries sources.'

That includes more efficient filtration systems and technology that reduces water use, which allows them to compete with producers around the world.

Link to Indiana Public Media

Indiana: 'Lt. Governor Ellspermann Honors Norman McCowan with Indiana Agrivision Award'

Quoting from the August 14, 2013, news release:

"Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann Wednesday presented the Indiana Agrivision Award to Jay County businessman Norman McCowan. The award recognizes a member of the Indiana agriculture family for demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in their field.

'It is my privilege to recognize Norman McCowan with this honor,' Ellspermann said. 'The vision, team‐building and sense of service he has consistently shown is an asset to his business, his specific industry, the state and national agricultural sectors and his community. The efforts of citizens like Norman are what makes Hoosier agriculture such a great success story.'

McCowan, Redkey, IN, is president of Bell Aquaculture, a leading producer of farm‐raised fish that employs approximately 50 people. Nominations for him came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Indiana Soybean Alliance, among others."

Link to the full release online

Link to a pdf of the full release

Study: Aquaculture on The Rise in Indiana

Quoting from the August 13th posting:

"A Purdue University study suggests Indiana's aquaculture industry is growing. The report shows sales from the state's fish farms jumped from $3.5 million in 2006 to $15 million in 2012. The number of fish producers in Indiana increased from 18 to about 50 in the same time period...

...In 2011, Bell Aquaculture broke ground on a $5 million expansion at its Albany fish farm. At the time, the company said the added capacity would provide three million more fish per year."

Link to Inside INdiana Business

Homeward Bound’s Garden in Full Bloom: 'The Novato nonprofit’s gardening program gets a boost from a special fertilizer'

Quoting from the April 29th posting:

"Now, thanks to Tanem, the garden has gained a crucial ally: Bell Aquaculture, the nation's largest yellow perch (Perca flavescens) farm and pioneer in sustainable fish farming operations, is partnering with Bob Tanem's Enterprises to provide Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer to the vegetable garden at Homeward Bound.

Tanem began testing Fish Rich on his own personal garden and at New Beginnings last year after responding to Bell Aquaculture's outreach to gardening writers and program hosts. "I have had very nice results with it,” he said on his radio program.

Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, praised Tandem’s efforts. 'I think it's a great thing what you're doing with the New Beginnings ... teaching people how to garden and everything else. We want to continue to partner with you as long as you're doing it - just count on Bell to provide the fertilizer for you.'"

Link to the posting

Business Roundup: Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer

Quoting from the April 13th posting:

"Bell Aquaculture recently announced it is partnering with Bob Tanem’s Enterprises to provide Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer to the Vegetable Garden at Homeward Bound’s New Beginnings Center in Novato, Ca.

The use of Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer was trialed at Heartland Growers Inc., Westfield, from September to November 2012."

Link to The Commercial Review

The Fish Site: 'I have had very nice results with it [Fish Rich]'

Quoting from the April 12th posting:

"Bob Tanem began testing Fish Rich on his own personal garden and at New Beginnings last year after responding to Bell Aquaculture’s outreach to gardening writers and program hosts.

According to Mr Tanem’s on-air remarks: 'I have had very nice results with it [Fish Rich], which is the reason both of you are on, and I thank you for the samples that I was able to work with. And it has done wonders in my feeding – and fertilizing the gardens that I have at New Beginnings. We’ve had a tremendous tomato crop this year, without any blossom end rot.'

Link to The Fish Site

Coverage Overview: Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer/Bob Tanem Partnership

Campaign coverage overview from April 10th:

"Bell Aquaculture, the nation's largest yellow perch (Perca flavescens) farm and pioneer in sustainable fish farming operations, is partnering with Bob Tanem's Enterprises to provide Fish Rich Organic® Fertilizer to the Vegetable Garden at Homeward Bound's New Beginnings Center in Novato, CA (Marin County). ..Tanem began testing Fish Rich on his own personal garden and at New Beginnings last year after responding to Bell Aquaculture's outreach to gardening writers and program hosts. According to Tanem's on-air remarks, 'I have had very nice results with it [Fish Rich], which is the reason both of you are on, and I thank you for the samples that I was able to work with. And it has done wonders in my feeding and fertilizing the gardens that I have at New Beginnings. We've had a tremendous tomato crop this year, without any blossom end rot.'"


Environmental-Expert.com






San Francisco Business Times

Yahoo! Finance

Seafood News Today

Cloud Vending & Food Services

The Capital of Water...Milwaukee Overview

 Quoting from the March 27th online and April 15th print versions of Forbes from the Milwaukee overview article by Joann Muller:

"The schools listened. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee created the School of Freshwater Sciences, the only graduate program of its kind in the country. Another UW campus, in Whitewater, introduced a minor concentration in water business.

With help from a National Science Foundation grant, Milwaukee created a collaborative research center that links together the research from UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University and six area businesses. In one lab at UWM researchers discovered how to manipulate heat and light to speed up the growth of yellow perch, increasing the food yield by 12 times. An Indiana fish-farming company, Bell Aquaculture, invested $50 million on applying the technology."

Link to the online posting

Bell Aquaculture Fish Rich Organic Fertilizer + KSFO's Bob Tanem = Great Partnership for New Beginnings Garden

 Bell Aquaculture is partnering with Bob Tanem’s Enterprises to provide Fish Rich Organic® Fertilizer to the Vegetable Garden at Homeward Bound’s New Beginnings Center in Novato, CA. The announcement is made by Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, who suggested the partnership when he and Bell’s Regina Dunlavy were interviewing with Bob Tanem on the KSFO 560 Radio Show, ‘In The Garden,’ about Fish Rich in February.

Tanem began testing Fish Rich on his own personal garden and at New Beginnings last year after responding to Bell Aquaculture’s outreach to gardening writers and program hosts. According to Tanem’s on-air remarks, "I have had very nice results with it [Fish Rich], which is the reason both of you are on, and I thank you for the samples that I was able to work with. And it has done wonders in my feeding – and fertilizing the gardens that I have at New Beginnings. We've had a tremendous tomato crop this year, without any blossom end rot.”

Link to the PRNewswire

Link to the PitchEngine Social Media Release